Dimensions of Hospitality in Community-Based Tourism: symbols, rites and artifacts at cassava house in Mangabeira

Abstract

In Mangabeira, Pará, the riverside community maintains traditions related to the manioc culinary system. Originating from an ancestral tradition initially of indigenous origin, cassava is the basis of regional food culture, structured in production and consumption patterns with local specificities. Since 2019, specific tourist itineraries have been taking place in this region, with the aim of providing an experience of the entire cassava flour manufacturing process. This type of community-based tourism enables greater integration between the subjects of hospitality and presupposes welcoming the other. From a qualitative and exploratory research, based on unsystematic observation, participant observation and open interviews, the objective is to analyze the tourist itinerary organized by Instituto Laurinda Amazônia in Mangabeira, identifying the symbolic dimensions of hospitality centered on the flour house. In order to do so, the local food culture and the artifacts used in the production of flour are presented, analyzed from the reception rites in the reception, accommodation, food and entertainment of the visitors. The symbolic dimensions of hospitality are revealed from the myth of cassava, objects, management and knowledge, space and way of life in the community.